The Admiral's Platoon
by Spongenny
Summary: My first fanfic about my Orikeros. Admiral Solulu and his new platoon must travel around the galaxy doing missions for HQ, whilst learning how to deal with each other and their pasts. Please critique, and thank you :) *ongoing*
1. Chapter 1

The Keronian that entered the conference room was a light blue color and wore a long jet-black cloak. His hat was a vivid red with an 6-pointed star on the front. As he entered the room, everyone fell silent.

Suddenly, a fellow Keronian stood up and soluted. "Admiral Solulu! What a pleasent surprise to have you join us, sir!"

Solulu nodded a greeting to him. "I'm glad I have all of you here. I have an announcement to make."

He sat at the head of the table and took a deep breath, preparing himself to speak in front of the other officers. He took out a laptop-like device and opened it. A blank hologram popped up.

"I propose an offer," Solulu began. "Most of you say that I need training in teamwork in order to keep my rank."

His audience nodded and whispered among themselves.

"Well, since Admirals are the ones who choose platoon members, I figured I would create the most elite team to command. I came to get your opinions on the soldiers I have chosen."

Once again, a silence swept across the room. Finally, another Admiral spoke up, "Personally, I think you're crazy. But continue on, rookie."

Solulu blinked. True, he was the most recent Keronian to earn his rank, but that didn't mean he was crazy. Or maybe he was. He didn't remember being tested. He typed something into the device, and a hologram popped up.

The Keronian in the picture had dark brown skin and a matching hat. He wore an old, yellowish vest, and had a large earpiece resting on his left hat-flap.

"My first choice was Ace Pilot Macoco as my weapons specialist. He's been known to build drones outfitted with automated guns, incorporating engineering and weapons in one."

The crowd murmured positive remarks. Solulu felt a weight lift from his heart, and a smile tugged at his lips. Until someone retorted, "He's too proud, and is a well-known 'womanizer' in the Keron Army."

The weight slammed back down on Solulu.

"A-Admiral Eilala," Solulu muttered. He had been the same one to call him crazy earlier.

"I seriously hope you have no girls on your list if you wish to carry him," Eilala continued.

Solulu irritably jabbed his device, which then projected a picture of an older grey Keronian woman, who had her brown hair tied back in a messy bun. She adorned a long purple gown, and her eyes seemed lifeless.

"Senior Chief Medic Filili. Teacher of many young medics. She is blind, yet has superb psychic skills." Solulu leaned back and smirked.

"Impressive," Eilala agreed with a nod. "Keeps the younger members in control. Yet she doesn't listen. You'll have to work extra hard to get her to do anything."

Solulu heaved a sigh. No impressing this guy whatsoever. Solulu leaned forward and jabbed another button.

This picture was of a cute, dark-grey tadpole with a black hat, a large gold chain connecting his ears behind his head. One of his large eyes was yellow with a blue pupil.

"I understand Chanana has yet to become a soldier. Which is why I wish to take him as my apprentice."

Eilala instantly pounced, "He's an experiment of the army though. Highly unstable, and-"

"Exactly," Solulu said quickly. "But do you honestly expect him to regard soldiers as friends in a cage in a lab? Plus, he could be useful on the battlefield."

Eilala just stared at the Admiral, then shrugged. "Who wants to argue with logic like _that?_"

Solulu nearly growled at his sarcasm. "So, would you like to see my last choice?"

"Why not? The rest have been terrible as it is."

Solulu smiled almost evilly. He knew this was his ticket: his last soldier. He tapped at the device, and the Keronian that came up made everyone gasp in fear.

She was a bright orange Keronian with a furry white hat, and two cat ears sticking up off her head. Black stripes curved on the fur. She also adored matching gloves and socks. A tail even slinked against her back, and a blue bandana was tied around her neck. Her bright green eyes were unmistakable.

"Sgt. Nekoko, huh?" Eilala smiled. "She's a firework, I'll give you that. Everyone's afraid of her. Her ninja skills and martial arts are unmatched throughout the galaxy. Her grandmother was an Admiral, and she trained Nekoko. She's practically unbeatable. Of course, this means everyone is afraid of her. Interesting choice," he added, nodding slowly.

"She, of course, would be my second-in-command," Solulu almost bragged.

The entire room just gazed at him in a mixture of awe and you're-an-idiot looks.

Eilala actually nodded, and smiled. "Nice work, rookie. You might actually get your platoon."

Solulu stood and bowed. "Oh, yeah, and I'd like to gather them by tomorrow."

"Ha!" Eilala gave him an evil smile. "You're crazy."


	2. Chapter 2

Solulu waited by his new ship the next day for the members to arrive. He'd managed to get in contact with the soldiers, and arrange a meeting. Of course, out of excitement, Solulu had gotten there early.

"Admiral! The Sgt. has arrived!" one of the guards by the door shouted.

Nekoko meandered up and just looked at Solulu. "Well, well, well. You look like a kid in a candy store, Admiral." She smirked, revealing a fang.

Solulu just smiled and tried to keep the excitement out of his voice. "It certainly has been a while, hasn't it? It's been, what, years since-"

"You're insane," Nekoko interrupted. "Admirals don't command platoons. They sit behind their pretty little desks and watch platoons fight. Shouldn't you be doing the same, _Admiral?"_

_You haven't changed a bit,_ Solulu thought to himself. _Ever since we were tadpoles, you've always been cynical._

"You shouldn't be so critical of me, Nekoko," Solulu voiced his thoughts. "I'm your new leader, didn't you know?"

"I am my own leader, didn't _you _know?" They stared at each other for a moment, then smiled in sync.

Nekoko folded her arms as the guards called, "Ace Pilot has arrived!"

The brown Keronian strode up, rubbing his arm where many numbers were written in ink.

He soluted. "A pleasure to meet you, sir! Thank you for-"

"You did not _seriously_ invite _him _to join our platoon." Nekoko's question was said as a statement.

Macoco cleared his throat. "Excuse you for interrupting."

Nekoko looked appalled. She opened her mouth to say something, but Solulu stopped her. "Thank you for coming today, Ace Pilot," Solulu said with a solute. He glanced at Macoco's arm. "I, uh, assume you ran into some…?"

"Fans? Yes, I did." Macoco grinned and shrugged. "I don't know what it is about me that drives girls mad!"

"Maybe it's the fact that they're desprate enough for you," Nekoko muttered under her breath.

"C'mon, _Seargeant,_ you can't pretend that you _aren't _impressed," Macoco said, nudging her with his elbow.

She glared at him. "Remember who you're speaking to," she growled.

Macoco slowly tiptoed backwards until he was behind Solulu. "Heheh, y-yeah…"

"Chanana reporting for duty, sir!"

The three soldiers jumped with surprise as the tadpole randomly jumped on Nekoko's back.

"Kid, I wouldn't do that!" Macoco exclaimed.

Nekoko turned to face the tadpole. She tilted her head to one side, still recovering from the shock. "Who are you?"

"I'm Chanana!"

Nekoko glared at him, then picked him up and twirled him around, a grin on her face. "Oh my goodness, you're so ADORABLE!"

Chanana giggled as Nekoko set him back down and patted him on the head. Solulu bit his lip to keep from laughing, and Macoco got irritated.

"Hold on, you like _him_ but you hate me?" Macoco yelled.

"I never said I hated you, but that doesn't sound like a bad idea now," Nekoko said.

Macoco dramatically huffed out air.

"Senior Chief Medic has arrived!"

All eyes went to the hangar door as Filala walked in. The air suddenly felt tense.

"A pleasure to meet all of you. I am Senior Chief Medic Filala, in case you didn't know. I hope to become friends with all of you." Her words sounded forced, as though she really didn't want be there.

"The honor is all mine to get to meet you," Solulu remarked. "I've heard much about you."

"Have you now? Interesting."

Silence took over the room.

Nekoko cleared her throat. "Hey, Solulu, don't we have a mission or something?"

"Oh! Right," Solulu said with a nervous chuckle. "HQ wants us to patrol the surrounding planets until they come up with something for us to do."

Chanana giggled. "Last one on the ship is a rotten egg!" He began running up the stairs that led into the hull of the ship.

"Whoa, hold up!" Nekoko ran after him, Macoco right on her heels.

Solulu and Filala followed them to the base of the staircase. Solulu held his arms out. "After you, Madame."

"Whatever you say, rotten egg," she said, walking up the stairs.

Solulu was too happy to be insulted. Today, he finally became a true leader.


	3. Chapter 3

That first night, after launching off, Filala had cooked a hearty meal for everyone. Afterwards, they each retired to their reserved suites scattered around the ship. Each suite was adorned like a large apartment; self-sufficient for vaying amounts of time.

Unfortunetly, Chanana had a nightmare. After about an hour of tossing and turning, the tadpole checked the clock beside his bed, which read 2:30 a.m.

He whimpered, debating with himself. "Should I just go back to sleep? I'm scared, though…"

Chanana grabbed his sheets, wrapped them around himself, and hopped out of bed. After coming out into the hall, he bolted to the nearest suite, which was Nekoko's.

He silently but quickly opened the door and slipped inside.

"S-sergeant?" Chanana whispered. He examined the bed, only to find she wasn't there. Strange. He dismissed it and ran back into the hall.

The next suite he stumbled upon was Filala's. He peeked inside, only to find a moonlit room with glinting siringes and needles everywhere. He shuddered and closed the door.

Walking on, Chanana suddenly realized he didn't recognize this hallway. Or the one he was turning on. He opened one door and found a meeting room. He went downstairs and…

He found the airplane hangar, which had all different shapes of planes and flying contraptions. He heard a voice echo through the room, and he investigated.

Macoco was up and about, counting out his tools and machine parts. Nuts, bolts, and screws were spread around him as he sat on the floor, taking inventory over and over.

"Macoco?"

Macoco's head jerked up as he saw the tadpole approach him, snuggled in a blanket. "Oh, hey kid, I- Why do you look so scared?"

Chanana swallowed hard, suddenly embarrassed. "I had a nightmare."

Macoco smiled at him. "My cot's over there, if you wanna sleep some." He nodded towards a corner on the opposite wall.

"You don't have a suite like everyone else?"

"Of course I do," Macoco explained, going back to his inventory. "I just don't use it. I prefer to sleep with the smell of grease, I guess." He shrugged.

"Well, thank you, I guess ," Chanana mumbled as he ran over to the cot. He snuggled in with his blankets, and almost immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Solulu walked to the bridge of the ship. After a rough sleep, he decided on taking a walk to relax.

When he got there, he found Nekoko manning the wheel of the ship. He saw her ear twitch when he entered the room. "So, you couldn't sleep either?"

Solulu shook his head. "Nah. How long have you been up?"

"Almost all night." She glanced at him when he came up and stood next to her. "After trying to rest for half an hour, I decided to come up here."

Solulu just nodded. "I don't think anyone's sleeping well."

"New people, new beds, it's bound to happen. I'm glad we don't have a mission yet though. Gives us time to get accustomed to our new surroundings."

"Certainly."

Silence befell the pair. Then, Nekoko spoke up.

"So when did you get promoted to Admiral? I don't remember being invited to any ceremony."

"That's because I didn't ask for one. Too formal." Solulu waved it away, as though he was above something like that.

"Hm… Well, you should've at least-"

An alarm went off, and a screen appeared before the two. A familiar Keronian admiral appeared.

"Eilala," Solulu muttered as he and Nekoko saluted. "What can we do for you, Admiral?"

"Ah, Admiral. Sergeant." Eilala saluted back. "I'm glad you're up."

"You knew we were up. Otherwise you wouldn't have contacted us so late." Nekoko said. "Now, how can we help you, sir?"

Eilala frowned, but went on. "You know how we said we want you to patrol? Well, forget that. We have a mission for you." He coughed a bit, muttering, "Let's just hope you don't die like the last guys did."


	4. Chapter 4

Solulu held a meeting in the conference room once the time for sleep had passed, even though nobody had slept. Sitting at a long table, the platoon munched on pancakes Filala had made and looked at their leader with tired eyes.

"HQ called this morning," Solulu began, standing at the head of the table. He swallowed hard, reminded of when he had to speak in front of Eilala. "They proposed a mission that only the most elite platoon could pull off."

"So this is a test of how strong we really are?" Macoco asked, taking a bite of a pancake.

"Precisely. The last platoon supposedly didn't survive, so they're seeing just how _elite_ we are." The Admiral cleared his throat. "They want us to infiltrate a Viper hideout and gather information without being detected. This'll be twice as hard, since they added higher security due to the prior attack."

"What kind of information are we after?" Nekoko asked, starting on her 8th pancake.

Apperently, Chanana noticed her pancake intake. "Wow, Sergeant! How didja eat so many?"

Nekoko stared at him, then shrugged, nearly swallowing the bread whole. "I'm just hungry, that's all."

Macoco snickered. "I thought women watched their weight, not ate it!"

"Shut it, airhead!" Nekoko growled, baring her teeth.

"Make me, furball." Macoco stuck his tongue out and winked at her. She just rolled her eyes.

Solulu hid a smile and continued. "There's a second half to our mission though. The Vipers apperently have a crystal that has an enormous amount of power. They have yet to harvest this power, and so HQ wants us to retrieve it before they can." He nodded at Nekoko. "You and Macoco will sneak into their base, and find this stone. Meanwhile, Chanana and I will be gathering information in a separate base. Filala will be in charge of the ship while we're gone."

Everyone nodded and mumbled approvingly.

"When do we move out?" Filala asked.

Solulu nervously chuckled. "We begin our mission at dusk."

"Dusk… Tomorrow?" Chanana questioned, tilting his head to one side. The chains behind his head rattled together.

"Heheheh… No. As in hours from now." Solulu scratched the back of his head uncertainly.

Nekoko stood up. "Then we better get some rest and ready our weapons. Meeting adjourned."

* * *

Macoco woke up in his cot and glanced at a clock on the wall. He had about an hour before the platoon moved out, which gave him plenty of time to check on his newest creation. He walked over to a covered object and pulled the blanket off of it.

A shiny green dragonfly sat with its wings limp and its eyes dull. Saddle-like plates lined its back, and sturdy legs curled underneath it as it rested.

The pilot took a rag and polished it a bit. The machine was at least twice as long as he was tall. He had build it from scratch, and had equipped it with small machine guns and a brain of its own. He found the on/off switch behind its ear and turned it on.

Its eyes lit up. The dragonfly look around before jumping onto its owner, knocking him over.

"H-hey!" Macoco cried. He began to laugh as the dragonfly nuzzled him. "Quit it, Blitz, that kinda tickles!"

Blitz buzzed happily and jumped off his owner. Macoco climbed to his feet and smiled at his "pet".

"Awwww! _It's so cute!_"

Macoco spun around at the voice before being knocked over _again_ by Blitz. He heard Nekoko giggling, and got up to see the ninja petting Blitz, who was making a robotic purring noise.

"Did you _make _this?" Nekoko asked, leading Blitz back to where the pilot stood.

Macoco just shrugged. "Ain't too big of a deal. I make stuff all the time." Then he eyed the sergeant. "Why are you here?"

"Solulu wants us to head out before the others. Helps lessen the chance of failure or something." She waved it off. "He told me to come and help you with a weapons check. So! Any weapons worth checking?" She snickered.

Macoco looked over the orange Keronian. He couldn't help but stare at the crescent moon on her belly. _Where had he seen that before…?_

"Yeah, I suppose so," he half-mumbled. "Do you think you could go spar with Blitz? I haven't simulated an actual fight with him yet, and I figured if he could survive against you, he would be set."

Nekoko grinned and nodded. She ran to a relatively empty space in the hangar, whistling the dragonfly over.

As they began to spar, Macoco checked his gun-locker and began taking inventory of the weapons he may call on during battle. It wasn't unheard of for an experienced weapons specialist to materialize a gun from thin air and use it in a fight, and he may have to do that.

As he admired his collection, he couldn't help but think. Nekoko was very beautiful, and his first instinct was to go win her heart, just like he did to every other girl. But rumor has it that the last guy to compliment her got his tongue cut off with a very sharp katana. That innocent smile belonged to a hellraiser, and Macoco wouldn't dare try to flirt with her.

Unless he wanted to die, of course.

"Hey, yo, Macoco!" Nekoko's voice echoed through the hangar. Then she laughed. "That rhymed _and_ it echoed!" The _pit-pat_ of her feet suggested she was walking towards the locker, though Macoco couldn't see her, since she had led Blitz behind an airplane. She popped out from behind one of the landing gear. "Boop! Here I am!"

"What? You're already done sparring?" Macoco gave her a curious glance before resuming his inspection. He pulled a rifle out and began polishing it.

"Fights don't last long, I thought you knew that." She shrugged. "Well, the way Blitz looks, I'd think he's made for fire fights, not hand-to-hand combat."

Macoco was about to make a comment when Solulu entered the room. "Ah, glad I caught you both here."

"How may we help you, Admiral?" Macoco asked politely.

Solulu saluted them and said, "We're over Fort 853-B, otherwise known as the location of the crystal. It's time for you to go. Good luck, soldiers."

* * *

It was night on the planet, yet every window in the huge corporate building was turned on. Solulu and Chanana were hidden in an alley beside the building.

"Are you ready Apprentice?" Solulu whispered, glancing at his partner.

Chanana looked like he was about to explode. "Yes, yes, yes!" His whisper was loud, and he was bouncing excitibly.

Solulu brought a finger to his lips and shushed the tadpole. "Now, how do _you_ think we could get in?"

Chanana thought for a moment, then said, "Walk through the front door?"

Solulu tried not to chuckle. "How about an air vent?"

Chanana's eyes got wide with excitement and he nodded.

"Now," Solulu continued, testing the tadpole, "where-"

"The roof!" Chanana blurted, before covering his mouth. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Solulu smiled and patted his head. "Good work, my dear boy!"

* * *

Nekoko, Macoco, and Blitz waited patiently in the tall undergrowth outside what looked like a jail, with tall grey walls surrounding a heavily-guarded _palace_.

Or, at least, that's what it appeared to be.

"Geez, look at all the guards! I mean, I could easily sneak past them undetected, but you…" Nekoko's whisper trailed off. She could see how the other platoon had managed to be eliminated. Security left nothing to be desired. Nekoko sensed the presence of a guard every 5 feet or so.

Macoco looked up and scanned his surroundings. "Alright, I want you to get as close to the entrance as physically possible. When you see an opening, take it. I'll meet you inside. Got it?"

Nekoko wanted to argue, because she _knew_ what he was doing, but she just bit her lip and nodded. She zipped through the grass like wind, silently carrying out orders. She managed to slip under a bush that laid right next to the four guards protecting the entrance. They didn't have a clue.

After what felt like centuries (really, Nekoko had counted about 30 heartbeats), one of the guards squinted at the sky. "Hey, is that…"

"What is that?"

"It's shiny!"

"It looks like a giant bug."

One of the guards shivered. "I hate bugs," he mumbled.

Blitz, with Macoco riding on his back, flew over the fort while being watched by the guards. _Perfect._

Nekoko slipped in quickly while the Vipers' eyes were on the sky. She thought Macoco's plan required a lot more violence. She made a mental note not to doubt him-

Shots rang out.

Nekoko disregarded her mental note, and concentrated on running along the inside of the wall. All of the guards were focased on trying to shoot down this bug, which obviously was a threat.

She ran around to the side of the building and spotted what looked like cellar doors. Nekoko took the chance and hurried over to them, threw them open, and jumped inside, not even bothering to scan the darkness for any signs of life.

* * *

"Chanana? You ok so far?"

"Yeah!" The tadpole's eccstatic cry was muffled by the wind.

The admiral and apprentice had managed to throw a grappling hook onto the roof of one of the next-door buildings, then throw it again from there onto the corporate building's roof.

Solulu was impressed that Chanana wasn't tired from climbing, but he decided to praise the young Keronian later. Right now, they were 28 floors directly above the room they needed. The admiral checked the time.

10 minutes before the meeting started.

Solulu pulled out the map of the building and traced blues lines with his finger quickly and urgently. Then he rolled the map up and put it into his cloak.

"Let's go," Solulu said to his apprentice before scampering over to an air duct and jumping into it.

* * *

Filala sat in the darkness of the control room. All the lights were turned off, and only the ship's antigravity motor was on. It didn't matter to her anyway. It's not like she could _see_.

She cast out her psychic senses and tried to pick up something.

Wait, what was _that?_

Oh, it was a bunny. She sighed with relief. Everything seemed to be going as planned. Well, on Nekoko and Macoco's side, anyway. Solulu had instructed the ship to be above the fort, just in case one of the young soldiers got injured.

Even though Solulu was a young soldier himself.

She didn't understand her new platoon. She tried to read their emotions, but they all had closed their minds to each other. Typical.

Something caught her attention below. Pinpointing it, she found Nekoko in the basement underneath the fort. She knocked out one, two, three guards, sneaked past a forth, got to the stairs that led to the first floor-

But she was alone. Where was Macoco?

Filala scanned the fort and found him on the roof. He began heading downwards.

The senior chief medic could sense the crystal they were after. Its power was strong, emitting heat like the sun. Unfortunetly, that meant the concentration of guards was higher.

She heard the faint sound of a siren go off, and immidiately grabbed a communicator.

* * *

Solulu and Chanana were almost there. Just a few more turns…

Solulu heard static in his ear, which made him jump. He predded the small bluetooth under the flap of his hat and whispered, "Yes?"

"Nekoko and Macoco have issued the alarm. Be extra cautious," Filala warned from the other end of the line.

"Gotcha. Keep up the good work, Cheif Medic. Over and out."

Solulu crawled on through the air vents, Chanana following his every move.

Eventually, they reached an opening they could look through, and listened.

"…So, yes, I favor the budget cuts," said one Viper at the head of the table. The others nodded in agreement.

"But the schools won't be able to afford _chocolate sourbet!_" Another Viper countered. The conversation continued on like this for quite a while.

"Sir, all the stuff their talking about is useless information," Chanana quietly whined.

Solulu tried not to laugh. "Yes, I suppose this is just an informational meeting."

Suddenly, a Viper burst throught the door. "SIR, THERE'S BEEN A BREAK-IN AT FORT 853-B!"

The other Vipers looked startled, before the leader stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "Well, don't just stand there, GET OVER THERE AND PROTECT THAT CRYSTAL!"

Everyone scrambled at that command, and Chanana sat back on his heels. "Does that mean…?"

Solulu looked up with worry on his face. "We need to get back to the ship."

* * *

"Hey, airhead, where have _you _been?" Nekoko joked, running up to her partner.

"On the roof," Macoco answered, looking up. "And _you, _furball?"

Nekoko just shrugged. "I've been actually doing the mission. Unlike you."

Macoco waved it off, turned, and began walking briskly down the hall, Nekoko on his heels. "I found the crystal."

They arrived at a huge metal door bolted shut.

"So whaddya suppose we do?" Nekoko asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Macoco materialized a rocket launcher. "We are gonna blow stuff up!"

The explosion caused the sirens to go off for a second time, but the duo disregarded it. They headed forward, dodging laser beams and random spike patches.

"This reminds me of a show I watched when I was a kid," Macoco said to himself. "The only good part of my childhood…"

"Look!" Nekoko cried, pointing at a pillar that had a small, pink, quatz-like stone on it. "That must be it!"

"Hey, you!" a voice echoed behind them. "Prepare to die like your friends did!"

Nekoko grabbed the crystal as Macoco scoffed. "We didn't know them. Get you're facts straight, yeah?" With that, he shot his rocket launcher yet again, this time at the wall behind the pillar. A giant hole formed in it, letting in a breeze from outside.

Blitz appeared, rearing to go. Macoco and Nekoko jumped onto his back as the Viper guards shot at them.

"Ninja Magic: Shield of Health!" Nekoko cried, raising her hand. A mirror-like force field rose up, deflecting bullets like they were nothing.

"Let's get outta here, Blitz!" Macoco called, pressing a button on the dragonfly's back. Booster rockets formed on Blitz's tail, and he shot off though the smoke-covered night.

* * *

Filala sensed them coming. She pressed the button to open the hangar doors, allowing the dragonfly to land safely. Once they were in, she pressed the same button to close it, and entered cooridinates into the computer. One pair down, one more to pick up.

* * *

Solulu and Chanana were lost.

"Didn't we already see that piece of metal? It kinda looks familiar…" Chanana pointed out. Solulu just sighed and pulled out his map for the umpteenth time. They had followed the way they had came in, but had still managed to get lost. Not to mention the air tunnels had begun to shake as the heater came on, making travel slightly precarious.

"I'm sure we're almost there…" Solulu felt a mixture of embarrassment and disappointment. DIsappointment because leaders didn't get lost, and embarrassment because he had lead his partner to get lost. He mentally slapped himself and crawled on.

His bluetooth began to ring, and he pressed it. "Hello?"

"Yo, Admiral!" Nekoko's voice was on the other end of the line. "Where are you? We thought you'd be done before us."

"You didn't miss much," Macoco reported. "I did all the work. Nekoko just sat back and watched."

Nekoko didn't deny it, but instead laughed.

"You need backup, Admiral?" Filala's voice flared with annoyance. She obviously wasn't happy with the situation at hand.

"Heheheh… No, I don't think so-"

"We're _lost!_" Chanana shouted into the bluetooth and Solulu's ear. "Can't you help us?"

Silence on the other line. Then, "That's pretty bad when your _apprentice_ knows when to ask for help before you do."

Solulu sighed. "Just shut up and get us outta here."

A loud _BOOM_ resonated through the building, shaking everything.

"I made a shortcut for you." Filala growled. "Now hurry up."

* * *

"Not bad for a first mission, I think," Macoco bragged, tossing the crystal up in the air and catching it. "Except you didn't do _jack_."

Nekoko shrugged. "I would've stepped in if you needed my help. But you didn't."

The platoon was gathered around the control room of the ship, relaxing after escaping the planet without injuries.

Well, Solulu's pride was hurt pretty bad, but he wouldn't admit it.

He grabbed the crystal from Macoco. "We need to deliver this to HQ." With that he went to the front of the room and typed something into the main computer. A small podium arose from inside it.

"WHOA!" Chanana's eyes got wide and glittery. "A teleporter!"

"Filala, contact HQ."

Filala did as she was instructed, going to her seat and typing in a few things at her computer.

A screen appeared in front of Solulu, and Keronian words began to form on it. He putt he stone in the teleporter and pressed a button.

In the blink of an eye, the stone was gone, and suddenly a Keronian ppped up on the screen. Of all the people at headquarters, it had to be Admiral Eilala.

"About _time_, Admiral Solulu!" he complained.

No greeting, no congradulations. Nekoko felt the urge to kill something.

"So what did you need the stone for, sir?" Chanana asked, his arm up in a salute.

"Ah… Yes," Eilala began, handling the stone. "Here's the thing. You know how we said this stone has a lot of power?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, we can only access a little at a time. And when I say a 'little', I mean just enough to do something, oh, I don't know…" He coughed and mumbled something.

"Did… Did you just say 'laundry?'" Filala asked.

Eilala grinned. "Yup."

"So that platoon that died…" Macoco said.

"Hm?"

"They died so you could do laundry." Solulu rubbed his temples.

"Ah, yes, see, I _knew_ you would understand."

"Understand that you're a _retard! _Do you know how much of an idiot you-" Nekoko's rant was cut short by both Macoco and Solulu rushing over to cover her mouth. She tried to shout through their hands, but her words were muffled.

Eilala chuckled. "So I take it everyone survived?"

"Yes, sir," Filala answered.

"Good. You all are on standby until further notice." With that, the screen went black.

Nekoko slapped away the boys' hands and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh my goodness, what a _moron_. I'm out. I'm done." She threw her arms up dramatically as she walked out of the room.

* * *

**If you have read this far, I can't thank you enough. THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU ;.; *glomp* I'm sorry that I wrote such a long chapter, and that it kinda seems rushed at the end. But hey, watcha gonna do? ;P**

**I think I kinda have the next chapter planned out, and it may be just as long, if not longer than this one... Or it could be shorter. I'm not entirely sure yet. **

**Reviews are always welcome, but aren't required! Thank you so much for reading this far, and I hope to live up to your expectations in the next chapter. ~Hali 3 :)**

**P.S. It may be kinda sad, just warnin ya ahead of time x3**


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